System and method for bridging to a lte wireless communication network

ABSTRACT

A system and method for bridging user devices communicating according to a 3 rd  Generation (3G) communication protocol to a LTE wireless communication network, thereby enabling user devices that do not have sufficient signal strength for directly coupling to the LTE wireless communication network to nevertheless access such wireless communication systems and methods via a bridging system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following description relates generally to wireless communicationsystems and methods, and more particularly to systems and methods forbridging to a wireless communication network, thereby enabling userdevices that do not have sufficient signal strength to directly coupleto the wireless communication network to nevertheless access suchwireless communication systems and methods via a bridging system.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging,broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-accessnetworks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the availablenetwork resources. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources. One example of such a network is theUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is theradio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phonetechnology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).Examples of multiple-access network formats include Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, OrthogonalFDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stationsor “node Bs” that can support communication for a number of userequipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via downlinkand uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communicationlink from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link)refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

A base station may transmit data and control information on the downlinkto a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplinkfrom the UE. Packets that a UE desires to transmit are queued up at theUE, and the base station makes decisions regarding when the UE should bescheduled for uplink transmission and how many resources to assign it.

Thus, mobile (e.g., cellular) telephones have traditionally communicatedover a network of specialized base stations. Most current mobiletelephones connect to a cellular network of base stations, which may inturn be interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN).In some cases, where data packets are supported by the wirelesscommunication protocol, the cellular network of base stations may becommunicatively coupled (e.g., via one or more gateway devices) with adata packet network, such as the Internet, thereby enabling UEs (e.g.,mobile telephones) to browse the web and/or perform other data packettransactions (e.g., receive and/or transmit data packets) with otherdevices, such as computer servers. The base stations (or “cellulartowers”) generally provide coverage over large areas. The area coverageof such a tower is sometimes referred to as a macrocell. These basestations are typically positioned to bring the greatest coverage to thegreatest number of cellular telephone users. The above-describedtraditional cellular telephone network is referred to herein as a“mobile core network” (or simply “mobile core”).

Thus, cellular networks such as those described above are referred toherein as a “mobile core network” (or simply “mobile core”). It shouldbe appreciated that, although terms typically associated with particularnetwork standards and protocols have been used in describing exemplarymobile core networks above, mobile core networks as discussed herein maycomprise various configurations, such as GSM, CDMA, time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), UMTS, second generation (2G), third generation(3G), high speed packet access (HSPA), time division-synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA), time division-code divisionmultiple access (TD-CDMA), etc. The makeup and functionality of theseand other mobile core networks is well-known in the art and is thus notdescribed in great detail herein.

A mobile core network may be formed using any of various wirelesscommunication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA andother networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often usedinterchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology, suchas Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), TelecommunicationsIndustry Association's (TIA's) CDMA2000®, and the like. The UTRAtechnology includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA.The CDMA2000® technology includes the IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856standards from the Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA) and TIA. A TDMAnetwork may implement a radio technology, such as Global System forMobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radiotechnology, such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB),IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, andthe like. The UTRA and E-UTRA technologies are part of Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are newer releases of the UMTS that use E-UTRA.UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents froman organization called the “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP).CDMA2000® and UMB are described in documents from an organization calledthe “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2).

In the traditional cellular telephone network (or “mobile core”described above), the coverage of the macrocell base stations is notuniform. For example, individual buildings may have weak signalsindoors. Accordingly, more recently the addition of wireless routerfemtocell base stations has evolved. A femtocell is sometimes referredto as a “home base station”, “access point base station”, “3G accesspoint”, “small cellular base station” and “personal 2G-3G base station”.In general, a femtocell is a small cellular base station designed foruse in residential or small business environments. It connects to theservice provider's network via broadband (such as DSL or cable) andtypically supports 2 to 5 wireless communication devices (e.g.,telephones) in a residential setting. A femtocell allows serviceproviders to extend service coverage within a targeted small geographiclocation, such as within a user's home or business—especially whereaccess would otherwise be limited or unavailable—without the need forexpensive cellular towers.

A femtocell may thus be deployed directly within the wirelesssubscriber's premises, such at a home or office. With a conventionalfemtocell, the wireless communication device (e.g., cellular telephone)accesses the femtocell base station through traditional licensedspectrum, and the handset connects to the femtocell via a radio linkthat implements traditional mobile network standards. The power levelsbetween the femtocell and the attached mobile user equipment (UE) aregenerally much lower than the power levels between a macrocellular basetransceiver station (BTS) and UE, since the limited range of thefemtocell is intended to cover a much smaller geographical area (e.g.,the subscriber's premises).

In most femtocell designs, connectivity to the mobile network or publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) is provided through an Internetconnection, and calls are connected through Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) technologies. Other techniques are possible, such as utilizing aBluetooth connection between the mobile user equipment (e.g., handset)and a personal computer or peripheral, as implemented in the Glideproduct from British Telecom (BT). In general, mobile operators arecurrently focusing on the UMA and femtocell approaches.

Generally, the femtocell incorporates the functionality of a typicalbase station but extends it to allow a simpler, self-containeddeployment. For example, a UMTS femtocell may be implemented containinga Node B, RNC and GSN with Ethernet for backhaul. Although muchattention is focused in the industry on UMTS, the femtocell concept isapplicable to all standards, including GSM, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and WiMAXsolutions.

For the mobile user, the attractions of a femtocell are improvements toboth coverage and capacity, especially indoors. Femtocells offer analternative way to deliver the benefits of Fixed Mobile Convergence(FMC). The distinction is that most FMC architectures require a new(dual-mode) handset which works with existing home/enterprise Wi-Fiaccess points, while a femtocell-based deployment will work withexisting handsets with an installation of a new access point.

Currently, there are two broad femtocell architecture approaches withina mobile service provider's network: 1) all-IP (SIP/IMS) based approach,and 2) IP RAN based approach. The SIP/IMS based approach integrates thefemtocell through a SIP or IMS based network. This approach leverages aSIP based (voice over IP) VoIP network for cost-effective delivery,while interworking with a cellular core to extend legacy circuitswitched services. In this approach, the customer premise equipment(CPE) converts cellular signals to SIP and interfaces to a SIP-MSCinter-working function (IWF) which connects to the SIP (or IMS) networkas well as the circuit-switched network.

The IP RAN based approach effectively considers a femtocell an extensioninto the operator RAN network and ties the femtocell into thecircuit-switch core at the edge of the network. This typically involvestransporting “Iub” messages over IP into a Radio Network Controller(RNC) or a modified RNC/concentrator. (The Iub is the interface used byan RNC to control multiple Node B's in a UMTS network.)

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wirelesscommunication systems and methods, and more particularly to systems andmethods for bridging to a wireless communication network, therebyenabling user devices that do not have sufficient signal strength fordirectly coupling to the wireless communication network to neverthelessaccess such wireless communication systems and methods via a bridgingsystem.

A “catch-22” situation often arises with the deployment of new wirelesscommunication protocols (e.g., standards). On the one hand there is aneed for wide-spread deployment of macro base stations to build out thecoverage of the wireless network to encourage adoption of the technologyby end users. For instance, end users will not want to invest in serviceand devices capable of using the new wireless communication protocol ifthere is not sufficient coverage to enable the user's to utilize it. Onthe other hand, service providers often do not fully build out coverageof a new communication network at the outset, but instead graduallybuild out the network as users adopt the new technology. For instance,service providers may initially focus on implementing base stations toprovide coverage to highly-populated urban areas, while much lesscoverage is often provided initially to less populated rural areas.

Accordingly, particularly as a new wireless communication protocol isdeployed and before it gains sufficient macro base station deploymentwithin the mobile core network to provide wide geographic coverage, aneed may arise to provide a solution for extending use of the newwireless communication protocol to areas where such coverage is notstrong.

One example of such a newly-developed communication protocol that iscurrently being experienced is the transition from 3G to LTE or LTEAdvanced (“LTE-A”), together referred to in the alternative herein as“LTE/-A”. In general, LTE/-A systems employ heterogeneous base stationsthroughout the mobile core network, where such heterogeneous basestations have different power classes. Further, as discussed furtherherein, in LTE/-A systems the heterogeneous base stations operate in acoordinated fashion to minimize interference or noise experienced by theUEs. Any wireless communication system having these characteristics ofthe LTE/-A system are generally referred to herein as an “LTE-basedsystem.” That is, as used herein, “LTE-based system” refers generally toany wireless communication system having heterogeneous base stations (ofdiffering power classes) that operate in a coordinated fashion toperform resource coordination and coordination of interferencemanagement (e.g., to minimize interference or noise experienced by theUEs), while “LTE/-A” is used herein to refer more specifically to theLTE or LTE Advanced (LTE-A) standards. Clearly, LTE/-A provides anexample of a LTE-based system, but other wireless communicationstandards may similarly possess the above-mentioned characteristics tobe considered LTE-based systems, as well.

LTE/-A offers many benefits as a technology over 3G—higher throughput,lower latency and a lot of carriers now have a deployment strategy forLTE/-A from frequency bands with a lower 700-800 megahertz band, whichmay be employed for coverage of rural areas, through to 2600 megahertzband, which may be employed for high-capacity urban areas. During theinitial transition phase, a lot of operators will have problems coveringthe entire geographic areas that they want to service with the LTE/-Atechnology. Therefore, a desire arises for a solution that aids ingetting this new service into consumers' homes that might otherwise haveno or unsatisfactory service coverage.

In addition, LTE/-A brings forward many new or different types ofapplications for the consumers than were supported by 3G. For instance,there is more of a focus on “fixed” wireless technology in LTE/-Abecause it provides higher throughput, has a higher capacity, andtherefore enables users to do many more applications in their home,whereas 3G was primarily focused on getting more bandwidth (for email,etc.) for the user's mobile handset. So, while 3G provided acommunication protocol directed primarily for mobile users, LTE/-Aaffords a communication platform that may be leveraged for supporting avariety of applications at a fixed geographic location, such as within auser's home or business location. Thus, for instance, LTE/-A may beleveraged to provide the user's home telephony connection, home Internetconnection, online gaming applications, and a variety of othercommunication applications within a user's home. Accordingly, whileLTE/-A provides a mobile communication protocol that enablescommunication for mobile wireless devices, such as cellular telephones,etc., LTE/-A could potentially be leveraged to provide all (or most) ofthe communication for a user's home or business, thereby potentiallyeliminating a separate land-based telephone line/service and a separateInternet provider service (e.g., DSL, cable, or other Internet accessservice) in favor of using LTE/-A for all such communication.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a bridge system isprovided for enabling one or more user devices within a building tocommunicatively couple with a LTE-based wireless communication network.The user devices may have insufficient signal strength within thebuilding to be able to directly couple with the LTE-based wirelesscommunication network (without use of the bridge system). The bridgesystem includes an external module for arrangement external to abuilding for communicatively coupling with the LTE-based wirelesscommunication network, and an internal module for arrangement within thebuilding for communicatively coupling via a different interface with theuser device(s). The different interface provided between the internalmodule and the user devices is different from that between the externalmodule and the LTE-based wireless communication network. For instance,the different interface between the internal module and the user devicesmay be a short-range air interface (e.g., WiFi interface), a differentlong-range air interface (e.g., 3G-based wireless communication), or awired interface (e.g., a USB interface or Ethernet interface). Acommunication coupling is provided between the external module and theinternal module for enabling communication between the user device(s)and the LTE-based wireless communication network. Such communicationcoupling may be a wired coupling, which may employ Ethernet-basedcommunication over a Cat5 cable, as one example.

The communication received from the LTE-based wireless communicationnetwork at the external module may be converted to a different protocol,which is then communicated via the communication coupling with theinternal module to the internal module, and then communicated to theuser device(s) via the different interface. Similarly, communicationreceived from the user devices via the different interface at theinternal module may be converted to a different protocol, which is thencommunicated via the communication coupling with the external module tothe external module, and then transmitted by the external module overthe LTE-based wireless communication network.

The external module may comprise an antenna, receiver, transmitter,wired interface for coupling with the internal module, and a converterfor converting between the LTE-based wireless communication and wiredcommunication coupling with the internal module. In certain embodiments,the external module is configured to optimize the communicative couplingwith the LTE-based wireless communication network. For instance, aninstallation tool may be employed to aid in arranging the externalmodule, directing its antenna(s), and/or otherwise configuring it tooptimize its coupling with the LTE-based wireless communication network.

The internal module may comprise a wired interface for coupling with theexternal module, wired interface for coupling with a router device, andconverter for converting between the communication coupling with theexternal device and the communication coupling with the router device.Further, in certain embodiments, the router device is not nativelyconfigured to couple to and operate with the LTE-based wirelesscommunication network or the internal module and external module. Therouter device may provide the different interface for interfacing withthe user device(s), such as a short-range air interface, a differentlong-range air interface (e.g., 3G communication), and/or wiredinterface. For example, in one embodiment, the router device comprises awired interface for coupling with the internal module, receiver,transmitter, and at least one of short-range air interface, a differentlong-range air interface (e.g., 3G communication), and wired interfacefor providing the different interface for coupling with the userdevice(s). In certain embodiments, the internal module further comprisesa power injector for transmitting power to the external module via thewired interface with the external module.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by thoseskilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary bridging system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary bridging system in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary operational flow diagram in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system 100 in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. System 100 includes a wireless network 130 forcommunication, which may be an Long Term Evolution LTE/-A network orother LTE-based system, for example. The wireless network 130 includes anumber of base stations, such as base stations 121A and 121B, which maybe referred to as macro base stations, access points, node Bs, orevolved node Bs (eNBs). Wireless network 130 may further include variousother network entities, such as relay stations, gateways, routers,controllers, switches, and/or other devices that may be implemented informing a wireless communication network infrastructure, which are notshown as to avoid unnecessarily detracting from other aspects of focusin system 100. While two base stations 121A and 121B are shown for easeof illustration in FIG. 1, it will be understood that any number of suchbase stations may be deployed for forming wireless communication system130, and such base stations are referred to collectively herein as basestations 121.

Base stations 121 may be stations that communicate with each otherand/or with UEs, such as UE 140, and each base station 121 may providecommunication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, theterm “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coverage area of aneNB and/or an eNB subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on thecontext in which the term is used. In addition, wireless communicationnetwork 130 may communicatively couple with other networks, such as adata network (e.g., Internet 150), a public-switched telephony network(PSTN), etc.

Base stations 121 may each provide communication coverage for a macrocell, which may generally cover a relatively large geographic area(e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted accessby UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. In theillustrated example, base stations 121 within wireless communicationnetwork 130 enable wireless communication according to a certainwireless communication protocol (or “standard”). For instance, wirelesscommunication according to LTE/-A may be supported by base stations121A/121B for their respective coverage areas, shown generally aswireless communication 122A and 122B, respectively.

In general, LTE/-A systems employ heterogeneous base stations 121throughout the mobile core network 130, where such heterogeneous basestations have different power classes. Also, as discussed furtherherein, in LTE/-A systems the heterogeneous base stations operate in acoordinated fashion to perform resource coordination and coordination ofinterference management (e.g., to minimize interference or noiseexperienced by the UEs).

For instance, in LTE/-A a base station (or “eNB”) 121 may providecommunication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femtocell,and/or other types of cell. A macro cell generally covers a relativelylarge geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allowunrestricted access by UEs, such as UE 140, with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A pico cell would generally cover arelatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access byUEs, such as UE 140, with service subscriptions with the networkprovider. A femtocell would also generally cover a relatively smallgeographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access,may also provide restricted access by UEs having an association with thefemtocell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for usersin the home, and the like).

An eNB 121 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB121 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico eNB. And, an eNB 121for a femtocell may be referred to as a femto eNB or a home eNB. Network130 may include any number of such heterogeneous eNBs 121. An eNB 121may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like)cells. Further, a network controller within network 130 may couple to aset of eNBs 121 and provide coordination and control for these eNBs. Thenetwork controller may communicate with the eNBs 121 via a backhaul. TheeNBs 121 may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly orindirectly via a wireless backhaul or a wireline backhaul.

The UEs, such as UE 140, are dispersed throughout the wireless network130, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referredto as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or thelike. A UE may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA),a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station,or the like. A UE may be able to communicate with macro eNBs, pico eNBs,femto eNBs, relays, and the like.

LTE/-A utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on thedownlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) onthe uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple(K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to astones, bins, or the like. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. Ingeneral, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDMand in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacentsubcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may bedependent on the system bandwidth. For example, K may be equal to 128,256, 512, 1024 or 2048 for a corresponding system bandwidth of 1.25,2.5, 5, 10 or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth mayalso be partitioned into sub-bands. For example, a sub-band may cover1.08 MHz, and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 sub-bands for acorresponding system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz,respectively.

A UE, such as UE 140, may be within the coverage of multiple eNBs 121.One of these eNBs, such as eNB 121A, may be selected to serve the UE140. The serving eNB may be selected based on various criteria such asreceived power, path loss, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), etc.

Thus, heterogeneous networks, like network 130, may have eNBs 121 ofdifferent power classes. For example, three power classes may bedefined, in decreasing power class, as macro eNBs, pico eNBs, and femtoeNBs. When macro eNBs, pico eNBs, and femto eNBs are in a co-channeldeployment, the power spectral density (PSD) of the macro eNB (aggressoreNB) may be larger than the PSD of the pico eNB and the femto eNB(victim eNBs) creating large amounts of interference with the pico eNBand the femto eNB. Protected subframes may be used to reduce or minimizeinterference with the pico eNBs and femto eNBs. That is, a protectedsubframe may be scheduled for the victim eNB to correspond with aprohibited subframe on the aggressor eNB.

Thus, the wireless network 130 may use a diverse set of eNBs 121 (i.e.,macro eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, and relays) to improve the spectralefficiency of the system per unit area. Because the wireless network 130uses such different eNBs 121 for its spectral coverage, it may also bereferred to as a “heterogeneous network.” The macro eNBs are usuallycarefully planned and placed by the provider of the wireless network130. The macro eNBs generally transmit at high power levels (e.g., 5W-40 W). The pico eNBs 121 and the relay stations, which generallytransmit at substantially lower power levels (e.g., 100 mW-2 W), may bedeployed in a relatively unplanned manner to eliminate coverage holes inthe coverage area provided by the macro eNBs and improve capacity in thehot spots. The femto eNBs 121, which are typically deployedindependently from the wireless network 130 may, nonetheless, beincorporated into the coverage area of the wireless network 130 eitheras a potential access point to the wireless network 130, if authorizedby their administrator(s), or at least as an active and aware eNB thatmay communicate with the other eNBs 121 of the wireless network 130 toperform resource coordination and coordination of interferencemanagement. The femto eNBs typically also transmit at substantiallylower power levels (e.g., 100 mW-2 W) than the macro eNBs.

In operation of a heterogeneous network, such as the wireless network130, each UE (e.g., UE 140) is usually served by the eNB 121 with thebetter signal quality, while the unwanted signals received from theother eNBs 121 are treated as interference. While such operationalprincipals can lead to significantly sub-optimal performance, gains innetwork performance are realized in the wireless network 130 by usingintelligent resource coordination among the eNBs 121, better serverselection strategies, and more advanced techniques for efficientinterference management.

A pico eNB 121 is characterized by a substantially lower transmit powerwhen compared with a macro eNB 121. A pico eNB 121 will also usually beplaced around a network 130 in an ad hoc manner. Because of thisunplanned deployment, wireless networks with pico eNB placements can beexpected to have large areas with low signal to interference conditions,which can make for a more challenging RF environment for control channeltransmissions to UEs on the edge of a coverage area or cell (a“cell-edge” UE). Moreover, the potentially large disparity (e.g.,approximately 20 dB) between the transmit power levels of the macro eNBsand the pico eNBs implies that, in a mixed deployment, the downlinkcoverage area of the pico eNB will be much smaller than that of themacro eNBs.

Even with the deployment of various macro, pico, and/or femto eNBs 121for forming wireless communication network 130, coverage within abuilding 101, particularly in certain rural geographic locations, may beunsatisfactory and may be insufficient to enable communication devices(which may be referred to as UEs), such as devices 124A, 124B, 172, and173 shown in the example of FIG. 1, to communicate via the wirelessnetwork 130. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, anexternal module 102 and an internal module 103 are employed at abuilding 101 (e.g., a home, business, or other fixed building) to enablethe wireless communication system 130 to be leveraged for a user withinthe building 101 who might otherwise have insufficient signal strengthfor accessing wireless communication network 130 from within building101. For instance, a user within such building 101 may employ wirelessdevices, such as devices 124A and/or 124B, to communicate via wirelesscommunication system 130 with another UE 140 (e.g., to conduct voicecommunication, text messaging, etc.). As another example, a user withinsuch building 101 may employ wireless devices, such as devices 124Aand/or 124B, to access via wireless communication system 130 Internet150 for communicating with a computer server device 160 (e.g., a webserver hosting web pages, etc.), for instance. As still another example,in certain embodiments a user may employ wired devices 172 and/or 173which may be communicatively coupled via an Ethernet interface 171, USBinterface 170, or other wired interface for communicating over wirelesscommunication network 130.

As discussed above, where coverage of the wireless communication system130 is strong, a user may be able to directly access such system 130.For instance, in a highly-populated urban area where many base stations121 may be employed, strong wireless coverage may be provided to enableusers to have adequate signal strength within their homes/businesses todirectly access such wireless communication system 130. However, in somecases individual buildings may have weak wireless signals indoors. Forinstance, in rural areas, a sufficient number of base stations may notbe deployed to provide strong signal strength for indoor access withinbuilding 101. As mentioned above, this is often the case particularlywhen relatively new wireless communication protocols/technologies arereleased, such as is currently the case with LTE/-A, as they are oftenfocused initially on covering highly-populated urban areas rather thanrural areas. Even within urban areas or areas where wireless network 130has been built out with a relatively large number of base stations 121,the materials from which the building 101 is constructed may interferewith the wireless signal, thereby preventing a strong wireless signalbetween wireless communication network 130 and the inside of building101.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, an external module 102 isimplemented on the outside of building 101 for establishing a wirelesscommunication connection with wireless communication network 130. Suchexternal module 102 is configured to optimally form a relatively strongwireless communication coupling with wireless communication network 130.For instance, antenna(s) 106 may be directionally oriented and/orotherwise configured for optimal coupling with wireless communicationnetwork 130.

Also, an internal module 103 is implemented within building 101. A wiredcoupling 125 is provided between external module 102 and internal module103 via which communication between the external module 102 and internalmodule 103 can flow. For instance, communication of information receivedby external module 102 from communication network 130 (e.g., as may becommunicated from UE 140 or server 160) can be passed via wired coupling125 to internal module 103, and then from internal module 103 theinformation may be communicated to one or more recipient user deviceswithin building 101, such as devices 124A, 124B, 172, and/or 173, asdiscussed further hereafter. Similarly, communication of informationfrom one or more recipient user devices within building 101, such asdevices 124A, 124B, 172, and/or 173, may be received by internal module103 and passed via wired coupling 125 to external module 102, and thenfrom external module 102 the information may be transmitted to one ormore recipient devices, such as UE 140 or server 160, via wirelesscommunication network 130, as discussed further hereafter. Thus, theexternal module 102 and internal module 103 enable wirelesscommunication devices within building 101, such as devices 124A and124B, to communicatively access wireless communication network 130, eventhough signal strength within building 101 may be insufficient to enablethose wireless devices to directly access wireless communication network130 from within building 101 (without the aid of external module 102 andinternal module 103 in the manner described further herein). Thus,external module 102 and internal module 103 may effectively comprise abridge system to enable such devices that would otherwise be incapableof accessing wireless communication network 130 to so access it.

Internal wireless communication 123 may be provided by a wireless router104, which may, in certain embodiments, provide a short-range airinterface (e.g., WiFi communication, WiMAX communication, such ascommunication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11n specification, IEEE802.11g, and/or IEEE 802.11b standards), within building 101 via whichwireless devices 124A and 124B may communicatively couple (throughinternal module 103 and external module 102) with wireless communicationnetwork 130. Wireless devices 124A and 124B may be any wireless-enabledcommunication device that is operable to communicate via wirelesscommunication 123 (e.g., a short-range air interface, such as WiFi orWiMAX), such as a mobile telephone, personal data assistant (PDA),laptop computer, notebook computer, pad computer, media player device,gaming device, etc. Accordingly, wireless communication over 123 mayinclude OFDMA, CDMA, SDMA, and/or TDMA modulation schemes. While twosuch wireless user devices are shown in this example, it should beappreciated that any number thereof may be implemented in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

In certain embodiments, wireless router 104 may provide a long-range airinterface. For instance, in certain embodiments, wireless router 104 maybe a 3G femtocell unit, wherein the air interface 123 for the wirelessdevices 124A and 124B within building 101 may be wireless RFcommunication according to the 3G standard. In such an embodiment, thewireless router 104 and/or internal module 103 convert between the 3Gair interface and the communication protocol used for communication withthe external module 102. For instance, wireless router 104 may convertbetween 3G communication 123 and the wired coupling (e.g., Ethernetinterface) employed between such wireless router 104 and internal module103, and external module 102 in turn provides the conversion between thewired coupling (e.g., Ethernet interface) and LTE for interfacing withthe LTE backhaul.

In the example of FIG. 1, a wireless router device 104 is providedwithin building 101, which is coupled via wired coupling 126 withinternal module 103. Wireless router device 104 may be a conventionalwireless router device, such as those provided by NETGEAR, in certainembodiments. As discussed hereafter with FIG. 2, in certain embodiments,internal module 103 may be implemented to include the wireless routingfunctionality of wireless router 104, thereby eliminating the need for aseparate wireless router device 104 to be implemented within building101. Additionally, in certain embodiments internal wired interface(s)may be provided (e.g., wireless router 104), such as the USB interface170 and Ethernet interface 171, within building 101 via which devices,like devices 172 and 173, may communicatively couple (through internalmodule 103 and external module 102) with wireless communication network130. User devices 172 and 173 may be any type of communication devicesthat communicatively couple to router 104 via a wired interface, such asa personal computer (PC), data storage device, laptop computer, mediaplayer device, gaming device, etc. While two such user devices 172/173are shown in this example, it should be appreciated that any numberthereof may be implemented in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, external module 102 includesantenna(s) 106, a receiver 107, a converter 108, a transmitter 180, anda wired interface 109. The components included in external module 102may be housed within a weatherproof (e.g., rubberized, plastic, metal,etc.) housing, which may be mounted to building 101. The antenna(s) 106operate in a conventional manner to receive wireless RF signals fromwireless communication network 130. The antenna design may be a standarddirectional antenna system, which is most cost effective, or it may bean omni-directional antenna system, which may be configured to pick upmultiple base stations from multiple areas of network 130, as examples.In some cases, both a directional and omni-directional antenna(s) may beemployed within external module 102. The antenna(s) 106 may beimplemented within the module's housing or external thereto. Thearrangement of the antenna(s) 106 may depend at least in part on thematerial of the housing (e.g., whether it is a housing that does notsubstantially block or interfere with the wireless signals, such asplastic, or one that does substantially block or interfere with thesignals, such as metal). As discussed further herein, duringinstallation of external module 102 at building 101, the location andposition at which external module 102 is placed on building 101 and/orthe direction/configuration of the antenna(s) 106 may be selectivelyconfigured to optimize (e.g., maximize) the strength of wirelesscommunicative coupling with the wireless communication network 130.

Receiver 107 receives the signals from antenna(s) 106, and may compriselogic for processing the received signals in some way, such aselectronic filters to separate a wanted signal from all otherinterference or “noise” signals picked up by the antenna(s) 106,amplifier(s) to amplify the received signal to a level suitable forfurther processing, and demodulation and/or decoding logic for decodingthe signal into a form usable for the consumer, such as sound, pictures,digital data, measurement values, etc. For example, in one embodiment,the receiver 107 may be any suitable receiver for receiving LTE/-Acommunication. For instance, receiver 107 of external module 102 mayeffectively comprise an LTE/-A modem that is comprised of any number ofdifferent chipset solutions and frequency bands for performing thatfunction.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, converter 108 further converts the outputsignal from receiver 107 into a communication protocol to be used forcommunicating the information via wired coupling 125 to internal module103. According to the depicted embodiment, the LTE data communicationprotocol is converted to a different protocol for communicating payloaddata over wired coupling 125 between external module 102 and internalmodule 103, i.e., as data is communicated between network 130 and theuser devices. This same protocol can be used in communicating databetween the indoor unit and the end user devices.

In one embodiment, all communication between external module 102 andinternal module 103 occurs via a single wired coupling 125 (e.g., asingle cable, like a CATS cable). Further, in certain embodiments, poweris also transferred from internal module 103 to external module 102 (forpowering external module 102) via the single wired coupling 125. In oneembodiment, wired interface 109 is an Ethernet port, and wired coupling125 is an Ethernet coupling. A suitable cable, such as a Cat5 cable withRJ45 connectors, may be used for forming the single wired coupling 125between the external module 102 and internal module 103. That is, theCat5 cable may be the physical single wired medium over which theEthernet standard may be employed for communication. In someembodiments, such single wired coupling (e.g., Cat5 cable carryingEthernet-based communication) may be used to provide not only payload(e.g., IP) communication between external module 102 and internal module103, but may also be used for transmitting power (e.g., Power overEthernet or “PoE” injection) that is injected via power injector 113from internal module 103 to external module 102. While Ethernet-basedcommunication is employed in one embodiment, in other embodiments thewired interface/coupling between external module 102 and internal module103 may be of another type, such as USB coupling, FireWire coupling,etc. Similarly, in some implementations a cable other than a Cat5 cable,such as a coaxial cable, may be employed as the physical carrier mediumfor the wired coupling. The wired coupling 125 preferably supports alightening arrester and/or other environmental protectors to protect theelectronics of external module 102 and internal module 103 fromlightening and/or other environmental influences.

In operation, so-called “payload communication” that is transmitted viawireless communication network 130 (e.g., from UE 140 or server 160, asexamples) to be received by one or more user devices within building 101is received by external module 102. The received communication isinterpreted by receiver 107 into “received payload information,” whichmay then be converted by converter 108 to a protocol for communicationvia wired coupling 125 to internal module 103. Such protocol may be anEthernet-based or other suitable communication protocol forcommunication via wired coupling 125. In certain embodiments, thecommunication protocol used between external module 102 and internalmodule 103 may be a proprietary protocol, which is not a generally openor standard communication protocol. Such proprietary protocol may enablecertain features, such as interrogation of the external module 102 bythe internal module 103.

Transmitter 180 is an electronic device which, with the aid ofantenna(s) 106, produces radio waves for transmitting information towireless communication network 130. For example, in one embodiment, thetransmitter 180 may be any suitable transmitter for transmitting LTE/-Acommunication. In certain embodiments, communication from devices withinbuilding 101 may be communicated from internal module 103 via wiredcoupling 125 to external module 102. For instance, so-called “payloadcommunication” from one or more of the user devices within building 101that is destined for a recipient, such as UE 140 or server 160 asexamples, is received by external module 102 from internal module 103.Converter 108 may convert the received payload communication from aprotocol used for such communication over wired coupling 125 to anappropriate wireless protocol used for communication on wirelesscommunication network 130 (e.g., LTE/-A) and transmitter 180 may thenwirelessly transmit the communication to be carried over wirelesscommunication network 130. Thus, external module 102 enablesbi-directional communication between wireless communication network 130and devices within building 101. It should be recognized that whiletransmitter 180 and receiver 107 are shown as separate blocks in thisexample for ease of discussion, those components may be implemented as atransceiver 190 in certain embodiments.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, internal module 103 includeswired interface 110, converter 111, and wired interface 112. Asdiscussed above, in certain embodiments, wired coupling 125 is a Cat5cable carrying Ethernet-based communication, and thus the wiredinterface 110 may be an Ethernet port. In other embodiments, thecommunication over wired coupling may be according to theimplementations, including USB over IP or a proprietary protocol.Converter 111 converts, in this example, the payload communicationreceived from external module 102 by internal module 103 into acommunication protocol that is compatible with (or expected by) wirelessrouter 104. If router 104 is compatible with the protocol employed forcommunication over wired interface 125, then such conversion byconverter 111 may be omitted. Wired interface 112 is then used forcommunicating the converted payload communication via wired coupling 126to wireless router 104. Such wired interface 112 and wired coupling 126may be any suitable type of wired interface/coupling supported bywireless router 104, such as an Ethernet coupling, USB coupling, DSLcoupling, etc.

In certain embodiments, internal module 103 is powered by power supply114. For instance, internal module 103 may be coupled to a power socketof building 101 to receive power from the building's power supply 114.Further, in certain embodiments, internal module 103 includes powerinjector logic 113 for transmitting power via wired coupling 125 toexternal module 102. For instance, as mentioned above in certainembodiments wired coupling 125 may be a Cat5 cable carryingEthernet-based communication, where power injector 113 may be a Powerover Ethernet (“PoE”) injector. In this way, external module 102 may nothave or require its own separate power supply or separate coupling to apower supply, but may instead be powered solely by internal module 103,in certain embodiments.

Wireless router 104 is communicatively coupled, via wired coupling 126,with internal module 103. Wireless router 104 provides an interface fordevices 124A, 124B, 172, and 173 within building 101, such as ashort-range air interface 118 (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.), along-range air interface (e.g., 3G air interface), and/or one or morewired interfaces, like USB interface 170 and Ethernet port 171. In thisexample, wireless router 104 includes a wired interface 115, converter116, transmitter 117, receiver 181, and wireless interface 118. Wirelessrouter 104 further includes USB interface 170 and Ethernet interface171. It should be recognized that while transmitter 117 and receiver 181are shown as separate blocks in this example for ease of discussion,those components may be implemented as a transceiver 191 in certainembodiments.

Wired interface 115 is a suitable wired interface for coupling withwired coupling 126, such as an Ethernet port in certain embodiments.Converter 116 is configured to convert between the communicationprotocol used for communication with internal module 103 via the wiredcoupling 126 and the short-range air interface (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth,etc.) or long-range air interface (e.g., 3G communication) for wirelesscommunication 123 with devices 124A, 124B.

In operation, payload communication is received from internal module 103via wired coupling 126 at wireless router 104 (via its interface 115),which may then be converted by converter 116 from wired communication tothe short-range or long-range air interface. As discussed below, manywireless routers are known that receive wired communication, e.g., viaan Ethernet port from a DSL or cable modem, and convert suchcommunication to short-range or long-range wireless communication 123,and any such techniques may be similarly employed within wireless router104 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention.Transmitter 117 is employed to transmit the short-range or long-rangewireless communication 123 via wireless interface 118 to devices 124Aand/or 124B.

Similarly, payload communication transmitted from devices 124A and/or124B via short-range or long-range wireless communication 123 may bereceived by receiver 181 (via wireless interface 118) of wireless router104, which may then be converted by converter 116 from the short-rangeair interface (e.g., WiFi, etc.) or long-range air interface (e.g., 3Gcommunication) to wired communication 126. As discussed below, manywireless routers are known that receive short-range wirelesscommunication from user devices and convert such communication to wiredcommunication 126, such as for communicating via an Ethernet port to aDSL or cable modem, and any such techniques may be similarly employedwithin wireless router 104 in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresent invention. Similarly, exemplary wireless routers for providinglong-range air interface, such as a 3G femtocell, may be employed forproviding the air interface with the wireless UEs within building 101.

Additionally, wireless router 104 may further provide wired interfaces,such as USB port 170 and/or Ethernet port 171, whereby devices 172 and173 may communicatively couple to wireless network 130 via wirelessrouter 104. Devices 172 and/or 173 may be data storage devices, as oneexample. As another example, devices 172 and/or 173 may be personalcomputers (PCs) that couple to wireless network 130 via router 104,internal module 103 and external module 102 for accessing Internet 150(e.g., for browsing the web and/or conducting transactions with server160, etc.).

In certain embodiments, wireless router 104 may be a pre-existing or“standard” wireless router that is commercially available, which may beconventionally employed for coupling via Ethernet, DSL, cable, etc. to anetwork and providing a wireless interface 118 and/or wired interfaces,such as USB 170, Ethernet interface 171 to enable devices 124A, 124B,172, and 173 to communicatively couple to such network. For instance,such wireless router 104 may not be natively configured to couple to andoperate with the wireless communication network 130 or the internalmodule 103 and external module 102, in certain embodiments. Thus, incertain embodiments, such as that illustrated in the example of FIG. 1,a user's wireless router 104 that may be conventionally employed forcoupling to an external network (e.g., the Internet) via a Ethernetconnection to a DSL or cable modem, as examples, may instead be used toconnect via wired coupling 126 to internal module 103.

As mentioned, in certain embodiments, a proprietary protocol may beemployed for communication between external module 102 and internalmodule 103 (via wired coupling 125). Such proprietary protocol mayenable interrogation of the external module 102 for specificinformation. Also, a graphical user interface may be provided withinternal module 103 (which may be a web-based interface that may beaccessible via any of user devices 124A, 124B, 172, and 173, forexample), which may permit a user to determine the signal strength,quality and also provide a number of test mechanisms that may beinitiated to trouble-shoot problems and/or improve operation.

In certain embodiments, wireless router 104 and/or internal module 103may also include logic (e.g., transceiver) for communicatively couplingdirectly to wireless communication network 130. For instance, wirelessrouter 104 and/or internal module 103 may include logic for implementinga LTE/-A modem, similar to the logic of external module 102 (e.g., theantenna(s), receiver, and transmitter of external module 102). In thisway, the internal module 103 and/or wireless router 104 may be atransitional product that enables the user to eliminate the externalmodule 102 at some point if/when wireless communication network 130 hassufficiently strong coverage at building 101 such that communicativecoupling can be made from inside building 101. In such an embodimentwhere the internal module 103 and/or wireless router 104 includes such aLTE/-A modem itself, it may further include logic to monitor the signalstrength at such LTE/-A modem and dynamically select between using theexternal module 102 or the internal module 103/wireless router 104 modemfor communicatively coupling to wireless network 130.

During installation of external module 102 at building 101, the locationand position at which external module 102 is placed on building 101and/or the direction/configuration of the antenna(s) 106 may beselectively configured to optimize (e.g., maximize) the strength ofwireless communicative coupling with the wireless communication network130. In certain embodiments, an installation module 105 is provided thatmay be employed to aid in optimizing the configuration of the externalmodule 102. For instance, installation module 105 may temporarily couple(e.g., via wired interface 109) to external module 102, and signalstrength measurement logic 119 may measure the strength of signals beingreceived by external module 102 from wireless network 130. Further, auser interface 120 may output some indication to aid the installer inarranging and/or configuring the external module to optimize such signalstrength. Thus, installation tool 105 may couple inline with theconnection between the external module and the internal and provideclear information to the installer to aid the installer in determiningexactly where to position module 102 and/or to point antenna(s) 106 tooptimize signal strength.

Turning to FIG. 2, in certain embodiments, a separate wireless routerdevice 104 may not be required, but instead the internal module 103 mayitself be implemented to not only interface with external module 102 butto also provide the internal interface(s), such as a short-range airinterface, long-range air interface (e.g., 3G femtocell communication),and/or wired interface (e.g., USB interface, Ethernet port, etc.), forinterfacing with user devices 124A, 124B, 172, and 173. In the exemplarysystem 200 of FIG. 2, internal module 201 includes wired interface 110for coupling via wired interface 125 with external module 102 in themanner discussed above with FIG. 1. However, in this example, internalmodule 201 also implements internal interface(s) for coupling with userdevices 124A, 124B, 172, and 173. Thus, internal module 201 includesconverter 202, transmitter 117, receiver 181, as well as wirelessinterface 118, USB interface 170, and Ethernet port 171. Converter 202converts between the communication protocol used for communicatingpayload data between internal module 201 and external module 102 and thecommunication protocol used for communicating via the short-range orlong-range wireless interface 118 and/or one of wired interfaces170/171.

Together, the external module 102, internal module 103 or 201, and inthe example of FIG. 1 router 104, effectively form a bridge system thatenables user devices 124A, 124B, 172, and 173 that are otherwise unableto directly couple to wireless communication network 130 to do so.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary operational flow diagram for one embodiment,in block 301 external module 102 establishes a communicative couplingwith LTE-based communication network 130 via a first interface (e.g.,via antenna(s) 106 and receiver 107/transmitter 180). In block 302, acommunicative coupling 125 (e.g., wired communicative coupling) isestablished between the external module 102 and internal module 103/201.In block 303, internal module 103/201 establishes a communicativecoupling with the user devices 124A, 124B, 172, and/or 173 via adifferent interface than the first interface (e.g., via a different airinterface 118/123, such as a short-range air interface or differentlong-range air interface, like 3G in this example, and/or via a wiredinterface, such as USB 170 or Ethernet 171). In block 304, the internalmodule 103/201 and external module 102 operate to effectively bridge acommunicative coupling between the user device(s) and the LTE-basedcommunication network.

Many of the elements described herein, when implemented viacomputer-executable instructions, are in essence the software codedefining the operations thereof. For instance, the above-describedconverters 108, 111, 116, and 202 each may comprise computer-executablesoftware code that is stored to a computer-readable medium and isexecuted by a processor-based computing device for performing thecorresponding operations described herein. Further, the variousoperations described herein, such as those operations described withreference to the exemplary flow of FIG. 3, as well as other operationsdescribed herein may be performed by computer-executable software codestored to a computer-readable medium and executing on a processor-basedcomputing device. The executable instructions or software code may beobtained, for example, from a computer-readable medium or “storagedevice” (e.g., a hard drive media, optical media, EPROM, EEPROM, tapemedia, cartridge media, flash memory, ROM, memory stick, and/or thelike). In certain embodiments, a CPU of a computing system or device mayexecute the various logical instructions according to embodiments of thepresent invention. It shall be appreciated that the present invention isnot limited to the architecture of the computing system or device onwhich the various elements are implemented. The various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with thedisclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein, as examples. A general-purposeprocessor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processormay be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

1. A bridge system for enabling one or more user devices tocommunicatively couple with a LTE-based wireless communication network,said system comprising: an external module external to a building forcommunicatively coupling with the LTE-based wireless communicationnetwork; an internal module within said building for communicativelycoupling via a different interface with one or more user devices; acommunication coupling between the external module and the internalmodule for enabling communication between the user devices and theLTE-based wireless communication network; and wherein said interfacebetween said internal module within said building and said one or moreuser devices enables communication other than LTE-based communicationbetween said internal module and said one or more user devices.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1 where communication received from the LTE-basedwireless communication network at the external module is converted to adifferent protocol, which is then communicated via the communicationcoupling with the internal module to the internal module, and thencommunicated to the user devices via the different interface.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 where communication received from the user devices viathe different interface at the internal module is converted to adifferent protocol, which is then communicated via the communicationcoupling with the external module to the external module, and thentransmitted by the external module over the LTE-based wirelesscommunication network.
 4. The system of claim 1 where the differentinterface comprises a short-range air interface.
 5. The system of claim1 where the different interface comprises a different long-range airinterface.
 6. The system of claim 5 where the different long-range airinterface comprises 3G communication.
 7. The system of claim 1 where thedifferent interface comprises a wired interface.
 8. The system of claim7 where the wired interface comprises at least one of a USB interfaceand Ethernet interface.
 9. The system of claim 1 where the externalmodule is configured to optimize the communicative coupling with theLTE-based wireless communication network.
 10. The system of claim 1where the external module comprises an antenna, receiver, transmitter,wired interface for coupling with said internal module, and converterfor converting between the LTE-based wireless communication and wiredcommunication coupling with the internal module.
 11. The system of claim10 where the internal module comprises a wired interface for couplingwith said external module, wired interface for coupling with a routerdevice, and converter for converting between the communication couplingwith the external device and the communication coupling with the routerdevice.
 12. The system of claim 11 where the internal module furthercomprises a power injector for transmitting power to the external modulevia the wired interface with the external module.
 13. The system ofclaim 11 where the router device is not natively configured to couple toand operate with the LTE-based wireless communication network or theinternal module and external module.
 14. The system of claim 13 furthercomprising: a communication coupling between the internal module and therouter device, where the router device provides said different interfacefor interfacing with said one or more user devices.
 15. The system ofclaim 14 where the router device comprises a wired interface forcoupling with the internal module, receiver, transmitter, and at leastone of short-range air interface and wired interface for providing saiddifferent interface for coupling with the one or more user devices. 16.A method for enabling one or more user devices within a building tocommunicatively couple with a LTE-based wireless communication network,the method comprising: establishing, by an external module arrangedexternal to the building, a wireless communicative coupling with saidLTE-based wireless communication network via a first interface;establishing a communicative coupling between the external module and aninternal module arranged internal to the building; establishing acommunicative coupling between said internal module and said one or moreuser devices via a different interface than said first interface; andbridging, via said external module and said internal module,communicative coupling between the one or more user devices and theLTE-based wireless communication network.
 17. The method of claim 16wherein said bridging comprises: receiving communication from theLTE-based wireless communication network by the external module;converting the received communication for communication, via a wiredcoupling, to the internal module; and communicating the receivedcommunication from the internal module via the different interface tothe one or more user devices.
 18. The method of claim 16 wherein saidbridging comprises: receiving communication from the one or more userdevices by the internal module; converting the received communicationfor communication, via a wired coupling, to the external module; andtransmitting, by the external module, the received communication to theLTE-based wireless communication network via the first interface. 19.The method of claim 16 wherein said establishing a communicativecoupling between said internal module and said one or more user devicesvia a different interface than said first interface comprises:establishing a communicative coupling between the internal module and arouter device, wherein the router device provides said differentinterface.
 20. A bridge system for enabling one or more user devices tocommunicatively couple with a heterogeneous wireless communicationnetwork, said system comprising: an external module for arrangementexternal to a building for communicatively coupling with theheterogeneous wireless communication network; an internal module forarrangement within the building for communicatively coupling via adifferent interface with one or more user devices; a wired communicationcoupling between the external module and the internal module forenabling communication between the user devices and the heterogeneouswireless communication network; and wherein the internal modulecomprises a power injector for powering the external module via thewired communication coupling.